GeoVision Kelantan: General Information

Environment Kelantan's environment is a little different than most of the rest of Malaysia. With her latitude extending further north, than all but one other state, she has milder temperatures than most of Malaysia and her position facing the South China Sea often makes for breezes in the areas close to the sea. This has its benefits as well as disadvantages. With breezes coming in from the sea she tends to be a little more humid than other states, and with cooler, humid air moving inland towards the Main Range this can mean rain. This suits the majority of Kelantan's people just fine as theirs is an agriculture based economy, and the plants grown here demand a certain amount of moisture. However, in September or October the winds from the South China Sea begin to pickup speed, and the humid air is pushed inland much farther. With heavy winds continually blowing, the trapped air has no place to go but up. Combining with the warmer air coming over the Main Range the monsoon season begins. The word "monsoon" to most people, usually brings to mind images of howling winds, torrential downpours, never-ending rain, soaking everything in sight, and this can be true. However, in Kelantan it usually means that at some point during the day, it is going to rain. Often both, in the morning and at night, but during most days you can be assured of a fair amount of rain. There are times when the westerly winds and continuing rain combine to create flooding by constantly feeding the Kelantan River and its many tributaries with more water, while at the same time the large waves in the South China Sea prevent the Kelantan River from emptying into it. This flooding occurs on occasions and is expected fairly often, in low lying areas during monsoon season. This serves to replenish the soil and guarantee future crops. Sometimes, this had caused major flooding in Kota Bharu itself, but this is the exception rather than the rule. This is an interesting time in Kelantan as the fishing villages now turn their attention to much needed maintenance on their brightly painted boats, repair nets and equipment for the upcoming season.

Industry Kelantan's industry is heavily based on agriculture. Palm Oil plantations abound here, as do large and small rubber estates. Almost everywhere you go you will find one or the other, if not both. Rice (padi) is grown in great quantities here as are vegetables. One only needs to visit the Central Market in Kota Bharu to begin to get a sense of how important agriculture is in the Kelantan peoples' lives. As you travel around, you will see acre upon acre of fields growing some sort of crops. Padi Padi (or rice growing) is the major economic activity in Kelantan. Utilising both traditional and modern methods, Kelantan has many hectares devoted to padi growing. Kelantan annual rice output : 200,000 metric tonnes
(14% of Malaysia's total output) Tobacco Tobacco is a major cash crop in Kelantan. Many fields can be seen just outside of Tumpat, but tobacco is being grown in many of the coastal areas. Rubber Rubber plantations dot the countryside in Kelantan, whether large estates or small plots of trees. Rubber workers can be seen working the trees, collecting the raw rubber latex and drying rubbermats in the sun, and preparing for processing.
KELANTAN RUBBER-BASED ANNUAL OUTPUT: 60,000 METRIC TONNES Fisheries With 100 kilometres of coastline, Kelantan supports a fishing industry that is known throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Scenic fishing villages such as Kampung Sabak also draw tourists from all over the world. KELANTAN FISHERIES INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES OVER 25% OF MALAYSIA'S OUTPUT WHOLESALE VALUE OF MARINE FISH EXCEEDING RM. 1.79 BILLION. Palm Oil Palm oil covers about 70,000 hectares in Kelantan. Products of Palm oil include, vegetable ghee, margarine, glycerine, fatty acids, palm kernel oil and cake, amongst others. Malaysia is also planning to manufacture cars that run on palm oil. KELANTAN PALM OIL ANNUAL OUTPUT : 138,000 METRIC TONNES (CRUDE OIL) Copra Coconut trees are widely found throughout Kelantan especially in coastal areas. There are at present 18,000 hectares of land under cultivation. Products of coconuts include coconut 'milk', juice, oil, copra and coconut candy.

Cottage Industries

In addition to the primary role of agriculture and its related businesses, there is a continuous contribution from the Kelantan cottage industries. Most are based on handicraft items such as batik, silvercraft, basket weaving and songket weaving, that cannot be overlooked.

Economy
As Malaysia has become recognised world-wide as an upcoming economic power, with economic growth far in advance of most of the world; Kelantan's own economic growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. This can be attributed to proper planning and commitment in both the public and private sectors. Key economic areas have been identified and expanded with proper planning and supervision.

The high growth rate can in part be attributed to the diversification of the Kelantan economy and it continues to point toward an above average growth rate.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kelantan's economy with approximately 32% of the Gross Domestic Product. Rubber and Padi (rice) are the main crops. Tobacco is fast developing as an important cash crop as well. Other important crops are coconut, cocoa, corn and vegetables.

Forestry in the past, has played and important part in the economy. Remote areas of Kelantan have been opened for development. With the growing concern over the harvest of tropical hardwoods, logging is on a decline. This has created a paradoxical problem, in that the price of various tropical hardwoods has steadily risen making it more and more profitable to harvest this timber, benefiting the state and economy as well as those businesses who harvest the timber.

Tourism is rapidly developing as an established part of the Kelantan economy as more people throughout the world become aware of the unique opportunities Kelantan offers. For travel, variety, culture, and excellent value per dollar spent, Kelantan offers what few areas anywhere can; a wonderful experience at a reasonable price.

Last modified: Oct 21, 2000